Thursday, February 28, 2013

Watery beer? NPR says no

All the excuse we in the media seem to need to turn a minor gripe or pique into a major story is

a) the filing of a lawsuit

b) the introduction of legislation

This story, to wit. Note that is never says that the plaintiffs who allege Anheuser-Busch is watering down its beer have found this to be true in testing. Indeed NPR this morning aired a report in which the network hired an independent analyst to perform an alcohol-content test, and found that no, the beer tested was not watered down:

Tests conducted on Budweiser, Bud Light Lime, and Michelob Ultra this week by San Diego's White Labs found that "the alcohol percentages inside the cans were the same as what was stated on the can," says analytical laboratory specialist Kara Taylor. "Some of them were spot-on. Others deviated, plus or minus, within a hundredth of a percentage" — well within federal limits, she says

Posted at 09:36:03 AM

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I agree - neither of the situations you cite are generally worthy of getting all worked up over. Obviously there are exceptions - if the chair of a powerful and relevant committee introduces a big piece of legislation, that's one thing. But if it's just some yahoo in the minority party, it's rarely worth a word.

It's even worse than that, quotidian. The Forbes miserable cities list isn't even based on any kind of survey, but is instead Forbes's own mishmash of various factors assigned arbitrary weights. I'm pretty sure anyone who seriously cites it (and similar linkbait) is using it like the drunk uses the lightpole in the old story - for support rather than illumination.

Unlike BrianE, I am pretty much a beer snob, though will confess to drinking something like MGD if that's all there is. Bud Light Lime sounds awful, even more awful than actual Bud Light (and how could that be?)!

I've always said I've been seraching far and wide for 40 yrs for a beer I wouldn't drink if you're buyin - I'm still looking. (of course the caveat is that some of those things obviously don't qualify as beer - anything light or with fruit in it).

My comment about beer snobs was really inspired by Gawker, where the merest mention of Bud or Miller or Coors brings them out in frenzied droves, with lengthy descriptions of their preferred Brewer's Beard local handcrafted product. Some people simply cannot abide the idea that anyone would willingly drink a mass-produced American beer.

"I am absolutely flabbergasted to learn that there are people in this world who still voluntarily choose to drink Budweiser!"

I don't, but nor do I mind cheap beer--at least not as much as I'm bothered by Chicago-area beer snobs.

That said, I missed the memo from 2010 or so that decreed that 90% of all craft beers must have so much hops that it all but 'burns' my tongue, feels like sandpaper down my throat and generally tastes somewhat less appealing than warm (and non-spiked) Kool-Aid.

Thank god I am a real man and drink various types of whiskey, neat (though whiskey snobs are bad, too). Beer is for puked-filled fraternity parties (See, I can be a snob about booze, too.)

"That said, I happily drank plenty of MGD in college, but Bud literally made me sick to my stomach. No idea why."

Me, too. And that's bad for someone growing up in St. Louis. Such an odd duck.

I think it's the rice or something, but I don't know. I can handle maybe two Buds at, say, a game at Busch Stadium to see the Cards, but even a sip of Bud Light will set off these metallic sensations in my mouth, and then make me slightly ill.

Beer with fruit in it. My wife and I like Lindemann's Framboise, a Belgian lambic flavored with raspberries. It's low-alcohol (about 2%) so she and I can sit out on the deck on a summer's evening and polish off a 750 ml bottle ($10.99 at da Jewels) between us and not get too drunk.

But DaveB, that is "real beer", that is, with enough flavor to not taste like raspberries with a little beer. I've tried a Chocolate Stout, which is pretty good if you consider it dessert - I'm not sure how it would go with a meal like a BLT or something. One of my sisters has recently become a fan of more "hoppy" beer, too hoppy is too much for me (plus it gets tiring trying to keep those beers in one place! :-) One other is gluten-free, and has found a gluten-free beer that's not bad at all (Trader Joe's, I think). This summer we will again have our family vacation in WI, and will drink a lot of Spotted Cow from New Glarus (they have others we like, but this is our favorite).

By the way, DaveB, on the NW side it's "the Jewel", no "s" (and we pronounce "the" and not "da"). Very S side, "da Jewels"!

I'm really late to this thread, but it may surprise or amuse some of you to know that many of the Anheuser- Busch employees who were drinking beer in the patio deck at Wrigley Field this past season specifically requested Bud Light Lime.

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